What do you guys think of this?- Haas takes swipes at Federer, Courier

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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Tommy Haas isn't convinced of Roger Federer's greatness. Or of former player Jim Courier's astuteness as a television commentator.

Haas took a swipe at both following his 6-4, 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 loss Monday night to Federer in a fourth-round match at the Australian Open.


Federer, a winner of six Grand Slams in the past three years, hasn't won enough majors in Haas's opinion. Pete Sampras owns the record with 14.

"Everybody is talking about him being maybe the greatest ever," Haas said. "He still has to do a couple of things in my mind ... maybe this guy wins 15 Grand Slams."

Courier's flowery comments about Federer "makes me sick, almost." Haas made a crass remark about Courier's commentating, but later said "I love Jim Courier."

While Haas isn't sure of Federer's longevity, he admits the Swiss player is playing "fantastic tennis."

"This guy right now is pretty much the man to beat," Haas said. "If somebody can do it this week, great. I think I pushed him as much as I could today. You got to tip your hat and just say 'Unbelievable
 
I'm not sure that counts as "taking a swipe." What Haas said is pretty much true, Roger still has a lot of things to prove in his career before he can be considered the best ever. But the Jim Courier thing was quite funny.
 
LA dude said:
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Tommy Haas isn't convinced of Roger Federer's greatness. Or of former player Jim Courier's astuteness as a television commentator.

Haas took a swipe at both following his 6-4, 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 loss Monday night to Federer in a fourth-round match at the Australian Open.


Federer, a winner of six Grand Slams in the past three years, hasn't won enough majors in Haas's opinion. Pete Sampras owns the record with 14.

"Everybody is talking about him being maybe the greatest ever," Haas said. "He still has to do a couple of things in my mind ... maybe this guy wins 15 Grand Slams."

Courier's flowery comments about Federer "makes me sick, almost." Haas made a crass remark about Courier's commentating, but later said "I love Jim Courier."

While Haas isn't sure of Federer's longevity, he admits the Swiss player is playing "fantastic tennis."

"This guy right now is pretty much the man to beat," Haas said. "If somebody can do it this week, great. I think I pushed him as much as I could today. You got to tip your hat and just say 'Unbelievable
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do you have link for this? what's the source?
it's hard to believe haas would say that about courier.
 
Fed won 143 points vs 127 for Haas.
Fed broke Haas 6 times.
Haas broke Fed 2 times.

That is not a close match. Tommy is lucky he didn't loose is straight sets and should stop being such a sore looser.
 
I saw this article earlier and I am more than a little bit suspicious of it. I will wait until the full interview transcript is posted on the AO website because even if Tommy can be blunt and tempermental from time to time, I have never seen real sour grapes from him after a loss (he is not a sore loser type).

As for Roger, he is a great player right now, but greatest ever is something that I believe should be left until a player's career is over and can be examined as a whole. Tommy has a point there (and he played Pete 8 times, lost 5 of them, so he has a good perspective on it). Andre has said that he believes that Roger has more shots and versatility than Pete, but he won't say more until Roger has stopped playing.
 
Andre has said that he believes that Roger has more shots and versatility than Pete, but he won't say more until Roger has stopped playing.

On the contrary, Andre has said that Roger is "the best I've ever played against". He pointed out that there was somewhere he could always go to against Pete (backhand).
 
I don't see that (what I read here) as a denigration of Federer. He is talking about people putting Federer up there as the greatest player of all time. People are gushing over him and his talent.
While he is, without question, the best player of his day, that being now, he still doesn't have the resume to be compared with the best ever. Another 4 years or so at this pace and we can re-assess his place in the tennis pantheon.
For now I say he's the best on tour now and that's as far as I would go. I think that was Haas' point.
 
Haas isn't going to conform to Federer fans' rules by giving excuses
for every bad Federer mistake. Double standards suck the life out
tennis already.

Federer enjoyed the sickening Courier orgasms.
 
8PAQ said:
Fed won 143 points vs 127 for Haas.
Fed broke Haas 6 times.
Haas broke Fed 2 times.

That is not a close match. Tommy is lucky he didn't loose is straight sets and should stop being such a sore looser.
Click to expand...

However, it was closer than you might think. What you didn't mention was that Haas had break points (sometimes multiple) on every single one of Federer's service games in the 4th set and part of the 1st and 3rd sets, as well. Had he converted a few of those break points in the 4th, it would have been a 6-0 set for Haas. And had he converted the one of the two break points in Federer's first service game of the 1st set, he may have won the 1st set.

So the real story is the break point conversions. Federer was 6 of 11 or 55% of break points converted, whereas, Haas was 2 of 9 or only 22% of break points converted. They both had almost the same number of break chances, but Federer succeeded in converting 3 times as many of those break chances. That was the difference.
 
BreakPoint said:
However, it was closer than you might think. What you didn't mention was that Haas had break points (sometimes multiple) on every single one of Federer's service games in the 4th set and part of the 1st and 3rd sets, as well. Had he converted a few of those break points in the 4th, it would have been a 6-0 set for Haas. And had he converted the one of the two break points in Federer's first service game of the 1st set, he may have won the 1st set.

So the real story is the break point conversions. Federer was 6 of 11 or 55% of break points converted, whereas, Haas was 2 of 9 or only 22% of break points converted. They both had almost the same number of break chances, but Federer succeeded in converting 3 times as many of those break chances. That was the difference.
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Spot on!
The only thing Haas said is that he doesn't believe Roger is the greatest player ever by the records and he clearly isn't. I'm a Fed fan myself and I have no problem to admit it!
 
Alexandros said:
Andre has said that he believes that Roger has more shots and versatility than Pete, but he won't say more until Roger has stopped playing.

On the contrary, Andre has said that Roger is "the best I've ever played against". He pointed out that there was somewhere he could always go to against Pete (backhand).
Click to expand...

I mean about him being 'the greatest'. I've seen Andre avoid that specific question. :)
 
If you'll notice, the article seems to be paraphrasing and reinterpreting Haas's comments. Labeling Haas's comments as "taking a swipe" isn't exactly objective reporting to me. :)

Guess since Federer doesn't have any real rivals, the writers are trying to make something out of nothing.
 
That little bit the OP has posted is not all of what was said.

They left most of the harsh comments out...I can't find this transcript anywhere. Anyway, I know because here on the news network they showed clips of the interview where at one point Tommy said something like "He (Courier) needs to get his finger out his a-s-s and stop bowing down to Federer".

You will have to wait for the full unedited transcript. He was really heated at Courier for some reason and I don't know what Courier did to tick him off but he was ticked off.
 
Sometimes, Fed is falling into the "hole" playing against tough players like Haas. He starts thinking about other things moving off the game, shortly trembling. He can't keep himself calm. At such moments whatever may happen, his game can't be considered "his game" anymore, he loses his techniques. So these numbers of break points and etc.. play very formal role.

If he switches to the game mentally in time - he wins. I think Haas is working horse, and nothing more. It is not surprising that many of them study techiques of Federer and learn same strokes he uses in his game. So it's not surprising that with time more and more players will compete with him almost on equal. But he is genius and pioneer in this way of "rising tennis one level up".
 
Noelle said:
If you'll notice, the article seems to be paraphrasing and reinterpreting Haas's comments. Labeling Haas's comments as "taking a swipe" isn't exactly objective reporting to me. :)

Guess since Federer doesn't have any real rivals, the writers are trying to make something out of nothing.
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Exactly.
Bottom feeding junk journalism. No wonder I never read yahoo! news.
 
Shabazza said:
Spot on!
The only thing Haas said is that he doesn't believe Roger is the greatest player ever by the records and he clearly isn't. I'm a Fed fan myself and I have no problem to admit it!
Click to expand...

If being the greatest is measured by how many trophies one raises above his/her head, then Roger has a long way to convince people, but if greatness is synonymous of craftiness, variety and almost artlike play, then Federer is the greatest in my opinion. For instance, Sampras is considered to be the greatest in terms of trophies won, but think if Sampras' greatest asset, his serve was nonexistent, would he has won 14 gran slams? his game was boring and unispiring, if you ask me. So, to conclude, it depends on how one perceives greatness.
 
Dammit . . . I know it's around here someplace . . .

I seemed to have misplaced my list with all of the Grand Slams that Tommy Haas has won on it . . . oh wait . . .
 
I have to say I totally agree with Tommy Haas - I'm sick of all of the breathless hyperbole surrounding Federer as well. I don't mind some people calling him the greatest ever but hearing him described as a genius or an artist with the court as his canvass and all that kind of stuff is a bit nauseating to be honest. And Courier asking him "is there anything you're not good at?" is cringeworthy. The guy is a great tennis player but the way all these commentators go on you'd think he's the only one with any flair in his game. I think it's an insult to the other guys on tour and I'm sure Roger himself doesn't appreciate it.
 
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2006-01-24/200601241138092843345.html

Everybody is, you know, talking about him being maybe the greatest ever. He still has to do a couple of things, I think, in my mind to be that, you know. If you ask Jim Courier, I mean, that guy has his tongue up his ass I think, you know, the whole time when you actually listen to him commentating or listen to him talk about Roger Federer. Sometimes makes me sick almost.

That was a bit rash, but it's hilarious! Didn't realize he said something like that in the press conference about Courier.
 
Noelle said:
If you'll notice, the article seems to be paraphrasing and reinterpreting Haas's comments. Labeling Haas's comments as "taking a swipe" isn't exactly objective reporting to me. :)

Guess since Federer doesn't have any real rivals, the writers are trying to make something out of nothing.
Click to expand...
I tend to agree. Given Haas' bluntness, putting a mic in his face after a 5 setter (in which as BP noted, he had chances to win) might not be the greatest idea. His comments have nothing to do with Fed and everything to do with the media. We fans get sick of the hype - I'm sure the players really hate it after a while.

I'm sure Haas respects Fed's game and there are no problems between the two. If there are, then it's on Haas - everybody else in the locker room gets along with Fed.
 
I can understand the annoyance at Courier because his commentary truly is a little over the top at times. I've been wondering how much that commentary affects the other players. I know at the complex itself, tv coverage is without commentary, but when watching from the hotel room, the players are also going to be hearing "Federer is the second coming" and "My God, I've never seen anyone play anything even remotely like this" and blah blah blah.

If I had to hear it daily for the duration of the tournament and suddenly found myself facing Federer I think I'd be pretty psyched out before I walked onto the court. I wonder if the players feel that way or use it as motivation.
 
Truth be told, Federer does have a ways to go before the GOAT stuff starts. Commentators like to build it up for.....ratings. But, until he wins double digit slams, a Grand Slam, or even the French, it's all up in the air.
 
As it is said, the players must feel annoyed with all that adulation, because it creeps into their minds, when they have to face Federer. The modern media are overhyping things, especially this goat thing. In the older days, the press was much more reluctant. I recall a Connors match, a sf at Wimbledon 1975 against our lost friend Tanner, which was maybe the best Connors ever played. He returned the big Tanner serve even harder, and looked like a demon on the court. But there was always a wise expert like Dan Maskell or Max Robertson, who came up with Vines in 1932 or Hoad in 1957, who was hitting even harder or whose forehand was more devastating. By the way: the match was the beginning of Jimbo's downfall: Ashe saw it, and worked out his strategy for the final, with all that sweet stuff to Connors' low forehand.
 
sunrise said:
If being the greatest is measured by how many trophies one raises above his/her head, then Roger has a long way to convince people, but if greatness is synonymous of craftiness, variety and almost artlike play, then Federer is the greatest in my opinion. For instance, Sampras is considered to be the greatest in terms of trophies won, but think if Sampras' greatest asset, his serve was nonexistent, would he has won 14 gran slams? his game was boring and unispiring, if you ask me. So, to conclude, it depends on how one perceives greatness.
Click to expand...
He's is the most talented, yes I agree with you and he has a great shot at being the best ever in 2-3 years or if he wins the calender Grand Slam, but at the moment he isn't, not by the records etc. only by the way he dominates. That was all what Haas has said. Nothing wrong with it!
 
Davidbrent said:
I have to say I totally agree with Tommy Haas - I'm sick of all of the breathless hyperbole surrounding Federer as well. I don't mind some people calling him the greatest ever but hearing him described as a genius or an artist with the court as his canvass and all that kind of stuff is a bit nauseating to be honest. And Courier asking him "is there anything you're not good at?" is cringeworthy. The guy is a great tennis player but the way all these commentators go on you'd think he's the only one with any flair in his game. I think it's an insult to the other guys on tour and I'm sure Roger himself doesn't appreciate it.
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He clearly isn't, as he sated in an interview, about all the "crap" the media is talking!
 
Total context still a little lacking. Here's what followed the comment's already posted:

"I love Jim Courier, but it's unbelievable. Maybe in six years I'm going to shake Jim's hand and say, "Listen, you're right." Maybe this guy wins 15 Grand Slams. Who knows. This guy right now is pretty much the man to beat. If somebody can do it this week, great."

I thought it was refreshing to hear something concrete and opinionated in a post-match interview instead of the usual generalities about breaks and chances and so on. I also happen to agree that Currier in particularly effusive windbag when it comes to accolades for Fed. How about some constructive, thought-provoking commentary? How can he be beat? When he loses a set, why is that? Though he might be near it, he's not literally perfect.

But for that matter, if Currier has his tongue of Roger's ***, Patty Mac is in up to his elbow.
 
teedub said:
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2006-01-24/200601241138092843345.html

Everybody is, you know, talking about him being maybe the greatest ever. He still has to do a couple of things, I think, in my mind to be that, you know. If you ask Jim Courier, I mean, that guy has his tongue up his ass I think, you know, the whole time when you actually listen to him commentating or listen to him talk about Roger Federer. Sometimes makes me sick almost.

That was a bit rash, but it's hilarious! Didn't realize he said something like that in the press conference about Courier.
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This is too funny.
 
You need to look at the context of the speaker.

Courier and PMac don't have to compete with someone like Fed any more - so they can call it like it is. Courier, in particular, isn't shy with critical remarks about current players' games - why should he be with praise? Cliff Drysdale is borderline insane in his old age, but even he has said, repeatedly, that Federer has got more game than Laver. Remarkably, NO ONE QUIBBLED WITH THE MAN. Pete Sampras has said he doesn't watch tennis - except for Federer. The only former player turned commentator who doesn't trip all over themselves in their praise is Johnny Mac, and even his tone is one of resignation, touched with sarcasm.

Haas, in contrast, needs to be a hater. It's his job. He's supposed to believe that Fed ain't all that - because otherwise, what's the point? It's a good thing for tennis that he's so candid in his comments. More players should be.

As far as Federer, it's at the point where even very good players are beat before even stepping on the court with Roger. They've psyched themselves into a position where IF they play well and IF all the things they've been working on come together and IF Fed doesn't play well - then they have a chance at taking sets from him. The sad part is there's an element of truth to that.

The entire tour would be better off thinking "You know what? I'm screwed anyway. Nothing to lose, no pressure. Let's swing free." At least then they won't be trying to beat both FedEx and themselves. Besides, Federer has shown that in some close sets and big moments, he can get jittery - probably because he sees pressure moments so rarely nowadays.
 
As big a Fed fan that I am(he's probably the only reason I follow today's game) I think this sentiment is shared by many players on tour. I've been following the game for many years, & I've never seen commentators/media constantly praise one player the way they do Fed. It seems unprofessional when you read press conference transcripts & members of the supposedly unbiased media, just spend 20 minutes telling Roger he's the greatest player they've ever seen, what an artist, etc. I think Fed is a bit embarassed by the fawning as well.

And this had been going on since he won his first major in '03. Johnny Mac also goes overboard. After he won 1 wimbledon title, he kept calling him the greatest player he's ever seen. Many non-tennis fans/non-tennis sports writers I think are a bit confused by all this fawning. You never hear anyone call Lebron or even Tim Duncan, the greatest player in the history of the NBA(and if someone did, they would be laughed at) At least wait until Fed wins the French or gets to 14, whichever comes first.

When other players(who are professional athletes & competitors) are constantly treated like they are fans or commentators in interviews ("So, player A, is Roger the best ever? Don't you love watching his artistry?") what do you expect them to do? Join the lovefest? I'm surprised Roddick or Hewitt haven't snapped, they get no respect from the media. It's all about Roger, all the time. It's like they don't exist.

More from Courier:

Courier told The Pulse that players, including himself, had been guilty of saying things at press conferences which they probably didn't mean.

"And that's about all I really want to say," he said.

"Tommy is a friend of mine."

Asked whether he was offended, Courier said: "Not offended at all. I've been there before."

And will he seek out Haas?

"As I said before, that's my last comment," he said.


http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17929717%5E3162,00.html
 
Cliff Drysdale stated in 1974 that Connors was the best player he'd ever seen. The following February, a 36 year old Rod Laver lost a close 4 setter to Connors in a Las Vegas challenge match that according to Steve Flink in The Greatest Tennis Matches of the 20th Century, left no doubt that Laver would have won easily in his prime.
There are two different concepts at play here - one, body of work in the majors. Federer still has a long ways to go to catch Sampras. Two, peak performance. I don't think anyone has ever played tennis as well as Federer did in the US Open of 2004. If you add in the additional qualification of having to have won all four majors to be the best, Emerson, Agassi and Budge come into the picture also adding the dimension of trying to imagine how Emmo and Budge would have handled a graphite frame. It also depends on the surface - Agassi is not going to beat Borg on clay, and Sampras would be unbeatable on a fast indoor surface like last year's Masters Cup Shanghai.
 
IMO, Tommy Haas is one of the only tennis players that actually says something when he is interviewed. I never get the feeling that he has pre-canned statements to use for each question. He is honest and surprisingly mannered. In this case, I think he said exactly what was on his mind and he should get respect for that even if you disagree with him.

I happen to agree with his viewpoint.
 
Every player, except Nadal and Nalbandian, lost in the locker room before they faced Federer.

Courier and all the ESPN commentators have more than fingers up Federer's ***.
Pat/John McEnroe really think Roddick's serve and forehand are the biggest weapons. To them, whenever Roddick choked/lost opportunities against a physically stronger player, that opponent was a GENIUS. It's impossible to hear them while watching the Federer and Baghdatis matches. PHONEY P R I C K S.
 
Lleyton Hewitt is not a great player. Federer exposed his weaknesses and no, his matches at the 2004 US Open were not the best matches of all time.
He didn't need to play more than 1 long match, even the Agassi match didn't give me the feeling that he was in danger of losing. There were only 5 other average opponents.
 
Moose Malloy said:
As big a Fed fan that I am(he's probably the only reason I follow today's game) I think this sentiment is shared by many players on tour. I've been following the game for many years, & I've never seen commentators/media constantly praise one player the way they do Fed. It seems unprofessional when you read press conference transcripts & members of the supposedly unbiased media, just spend 20 minutes telling Roger he's the greatest player they've ever seen, what an artist, etc. I think Fed is a bit embarassed by the fawning as well.
Click to expand...

Well said. My biggest fear for Federer is that with all this ass licking going around, I'm afraid he's never going to reach his best potential.

The fact that Haas said what he said I think will only help Federer stay grounded. I think more players need start saying similar things and not all the time kissing his ass. But when they do say all that possible GOAT stuff, Fed gets soft. So I think they do it on purpose to see if they can weaken his mind.

I think Fed does a relatively good job in dealing with all this sucking up by the media. BUT, I have noticed him getting more and more cocky as time goes on. I don't have a problem with this, but I just think too much cockyness could lead to a premature downfall of Federer.
 
Moose Malloy said:
As big a Fed fan that I am(he's probably the only reason I follow today's game) I think this sentiment is shared by many players on tour. I've been following the game for many years, & I've never seen commentators/media constantly praise one player the way they do Fed.
Click to expand...
But what else are they going to do? I would hope the better tennis journalists are -- HOPEFULLY! -- fans of the game, and if they are it's hard to not be impressed by Federer. I don't see what the bias is -- he's clearly the best at least for now. I don't know. It would be like dismissing a basketball writer back in 1995 for being enthralled by Michael Jordan. If they're a fan of basketball, praising the GOAT seems unavoidable. The flip side is they're NOT a sports fan, and just don't care or know enough to notice Federer does some pretty spectacular things on a frighteningly regular basis.
 
I think being a journalist and being a fan are 2 totally different things. The MJ praise was never this overblown, even when he won many championships. It just doesn't seem appropriate for writers to be openly rooting for a player.

I have no problem with them writing articles praising Federer, but the press conferences are unprofessional. Can you imagine a reporter at a press conference after a playoff game, say to MJ "you are the greastest, I love watching you play"
The other reporters would think he was nuts. Or a reporter say to Barkley, Malone, etc, "don't you love watching him play? isn't he the greatest?" "is your goal not to get swept?"
they'd probably lose their media credentials. or some of their teeth.
I also see Tiger Woods treated more professionally in his interviews during majors & the media adores him. They just don't say it to his face, which is what Courier & Co. are constantly doing. And Haas is rightfully sick of it. When I read a press conference transcript or listen to the espn guys, it doesn't seem a whole lot different from the Fed fanatics on this board. It just feels creepy.

Read Peter Bodos' blog. He's been writing about the game for 40 years, seen Laver, Borg, Mac, etc & thinks that this Fed worship is out of control.
 
as much as i do agree with Haas's comments, one must see just how much passion Jim courier has for the game to say what he is saying.
 
i've said all along since 2002--Federer is not the sweetest person of all time, but since rabid, childish fans have empty lives, they hang onto him.

He's not a great volleyer. He misses easy shots, and the TV Posse cried in pain. Brad Gilbert admitted his insecurity stems from a bad relationship with his dad, so he jumped on his daddy Fed's bandwagon. If Courier was a lady, he'd ask for Fed's sperm donation.

Federer boasts about being humble and funny (yea, right). He believes he's all that and a bag of chips. Beauty inside and out.
He tries to be down-to-earth, but you can tell it's disingenuous.... "I can't cook. I'm always late. Sometimes, I don't listen when friends chat."
I criticized my favorite players, but their personalities are much less fugly than his. You can't mistake Laver, Ashe, Rosewall and Borg with Federer.
 
Docalex007 said:
Well said. My biggest fear for Federer is that with all this ass licking going around, I'm afraid he's never going to reach his best potential.

The fact that Haas said what he said I think will only help Federer stay grounded. I think more players need start saying similar things and not all the time kissing his ass. But when they do say all that possible GOAT stuff, Fed gets soft. So I think they do it on purpose to see if they can weaken his mind.

I think Fed does a relatively good job in dealing with all this sucking up by the media. BUT, I have noticed him getting more and more cocky as time goes on. I don't have a problem with this, but I just think too much cockyness could lead to a premature downfall of Federer.
Click to expand...

Thank you for spelling it out. Great post and I do think the same.
 
guys honestly...
i really don't like haas being like that
just cuz he lost to the #1 in the world
i mean... who hasn't b4?! so he should just go home an pray he makes it in the top 10 this year.
 
guys honestly...
i really don't like haas being like that
just cuz he lost to the #1 in the world
i mean... who hasn't b4?! so he should just go home and pray he makes it in the top 10 this year.
 
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